1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system wireless communication, and more particularly to an information handling system tunable antenna for wireless network adaptability.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Wireless communication has made portable information handling systems a powerful tool for use by businesses and individuals. Wireless local area networks (WLANS) and personal area networks compliant with the IEEE 802.11 standard allow end users to communicate with other information handling systems and with peripheral devices through wireless interfaces. Such wireless communication makes portable information handling systems convenient to use by eliminating the need for wire interfaces to networks and peripherals, and by allowing wireless interfaces with mobile hotspots, such as within a work environment, a coffee house or an airport. Wireless wide area networks (WWAN) provide network interconnectivity over long distances, such as through existing mobile cellular telephone networks. In order to communicate over each type of network, portable information handling systems typically integrate a wireless antenna for the frequency band associated with each type of network. In some instances of wide area networks, specific frequency ranges are supported depending upon the provider of wireless networking service used by the end user of the information handling system.
One difficulty with supporting wireless networking at a portable information handling system is including an antenna for each wireless network frequency of interest to the end user. This difficulty is exasperated when new and emerging technologies become available that change the frequencies involved in wireless networking. For example, a mobile telephone provider who includes wireless networking service may purchase new wireless spectrum or wireless transmitters of other service providers in order to expand wireless networking services. If the new spectrum is not supported by antennae in existing systems, then existing systems will have limited or no access to the new spectrum. Another problem is that a confusing array of antennae available for incorporation in information handling systems increases the difficulty of manufacture of portable information handling systems. An inventory of antennae is typically maintained for each type of supported wireless network. Tracking an inventory with a large number of parts is difficult, as is selecting the right part for inclusion in a given information handling system. One option is to include a tunable antenna, however, conventional tunable antennae tend to be too expensive for implementation in typical commercial and consumer information handling systems. WWAN spectrum tends to use antennae with a larger physical footprint than antennae in the WLAN bands that typically operate in the 2.4 to 5 GHz band. Further, the introduction of lower operating frequency WWAN bands, such as 700 MHz versus existing 842 MHz systems, will call for antennae with a big volume, which will increase platform form factor.